Disowned
by Hemingway61
Summary: After failing the summoning ritual, Louise Francois is sent home dreading what the future holds for her. It seems grim, until she encounters mysterious looking men with abilities unlike anything she has ever seen.
1. Chapter 1

Disowned

Chapter 1: Dud

The students had all gathered in the courtyard. For today was the day of summoning, the day for students to prove their finesse by summoning an eternal servant, a familiar. A large majority of the students had already performed the ceremony, but one black swan had remained withdrawn, not wanting to test the luck of the draw. Her name was Louise, Louise de La Vallière.

"Miss Vallière, please come forth and summon your familiar!" shouted Professor Colbert.

"But…yes sir." Said Louise nervously.

There was good reason for Louise to be nervous. Her skill at magic had left a trail of rubble and bruises in her wake. The weight of the world was on her shoulders; if she failed here the students' jeering would be the least of her worries. Her school curriculum depended on this one ceremony. Her Professor stood before her, his arm cradling a clipboard, a pen in his hand poised over the grade slip.

"Professor Colbert do you really think that something will happen?" laughed Kirche.

"Silence Ms. Zerbst, let her concentrate!"

As Colbert said this, Louise began chanting the spell while silently praying to Brimir.

"_Dear founder, please allow me to summon a familiar, I don't care what it is as long as I summon something. All I have ever wanted in my life is to be a great mage like my mother and sisters, and to loyally serve you. So please, don't rob me of my last chance to do so!"_ Louise silently prayed.

Louise finalized her summoning with at forward flick of her wand, causing many student to scramble out of her way. But there was no world shattering explosion, no summoning portal, not even a remote hint of magic. Louise began to feel a tugging urge in her stomach. This wasn't disappointment, this was panic. In a moment of desperation she tried flicking her wand again, again, and again. She wasn't even trying to summon a familiar anymore, she was praying for an explosion.

The students roared with laughter as Louise fell to her knees in shock.

"Try not to summon something too scary Louise!" shouted Guiche.

"I guess she summoned a perfect familiar, nothing, just like her!" shouted Kirche.

Louise snapped, she stood up, too furious to scream. Clenching her fists, she belted it for her room. Staircase after staircase she sprinted up, hallways acting like mazes, delaying the inevitable. She reached her room and shoved the door open, her face burned as her lip quivered. Unable to hold it in, she began sobbing. Slamming the door behind her, she flung herself onto her bed. She buried her face in her pillow and let out a scream that would wake the dead. Shortly thereafter, she began to feel drowsy and promptly rolled over and fell asleep.

**Several Hours later**

Louise was awakened by the sound of thunder, she looked outside to see the rolling tempest of clouds that crawled across the sky. The atmosphere outside gave off an immense feeling of melancholy. However this bleakness was nothing in comparison to the abyss she felt in her heart.

She sat up and walked to the window. An earsplitting headache throbbed in her head. "Why me? What the hell did I do?!" She screamed at the storm, unable to think clearly.

Her rage was interrupted by a sudden knock at the door. When she opened it she was confused to see the warm face of Colbert in her doorway.

"Good evening Louise, may I come in?" asked Colbert.

Louise didn't answer, she just opened the door and stood aside.

Colbert entered the room and took a seat on Louise's bed as he cleared his throat, "Now Louise, I'm not here to state the obvious to you, I'm sure you are very well aware of what the consequences of you failing the summoning ritual are."

"I do."

"Well, I just wanted to say that I don't think you are a failure."

"Thank you." She muttered in a tiny whisper.

"Now Louise, sometimes in life we just have to come to accept that we can't always have the things we want in life, and we just need to be grateful for the things we do have."

"What are you trying to say professor?"

Colbert stood up from her bed. "It pains me to do this, really it does. But Louise, we've given you enough chances. It's time for you to go."

Louise's chest tightened, "W-what do you mean?"

"I guess there's no soft way to put it." He said making his way toward the door. "Louise, I spoke to Headmaster Osmond and we must regretfully tell you that you've been expelled. I suggest that you pack immediately; we sent a message to your family, your older sister will be here by morning tomorrow." He said before handing the grade slip to Louise and walking out the door.

She stood there for a second. Louise felt a chill in the back of her spine thinking about tomorrow. One by one questions began to speed through her mind, but one questions shook her to her very core. "Eleanor…" She whispered as her knees shook and her eyes drew tears.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Lacrimosa

"Louise! Louise it went that way!" Said the Princess.

"Oh I see it!" Louise laughed as she and Henrietta chased after a butterfly.

Louise and Henrietta chased the butterfly as it flew into the nearby forest, as they ventured deeper into the forest, it became apparent that they were getting farther and farther away from their castle. Soon the sky darkened into a mystic indigo.

"Louise, maybe we should go back, we're not allowed to play too far away from the castle." said Henrietta in a worried voice.

"Yes, you are probably right Princess. This part of the forest is kind of scary."

As Louise turned around but to her dismay, she saw that Henrietta wasn't there.

"Hello!" screamed Louise in a panicky voice. "Princess where are you!?"

In that moment Louise began to realize it was much darker than she had originally thought. Louise anxiously looked around, everything around her looked terrifying, and the only light in the sky came from the two full moons above her head. Black clouds swirling around them.

"B-but it was daytime just a minute ago." Louise said to herself as her heart rate spurred and tears began to form at her eyes.

Louise then heard a strange rustling sound coming from the brush.

"Is anyone there?" Louise said as she inched toward the brush.

As Louise pushed the thicket aside, she expected to see the princess when all of a sudden a flock of ravens cawed as they burst from the thistles.

Louise screamed at the top of her lungs as she ran away from the birds.

She ran and ran as fast and as far as her five year old legs could carry her until she could no longer hear their screeches. She stopped by a tree to hide.

"Where am I?" Louise said to herself as she felt a warm liquid trickle down her legs.

"Oh no." Louise said as she felt her dress, realizing she had wet herself.

"Papa is going to kill Me." said Louise as she broke down and started sobbing.

"Papa, Mama, Princess, where are you!" Louise screamed. Cradling herself in the darkness, she saw a bright purple light appear in front of her. Cautiously, she walked towards the light until it was within arms reach. It calmed her, she couldn't figure out why, but it eased her nerves. Sounds like that of the ocean emanated from the amethyst like glow. Slowly, she reached for it. But before her palms could touch the soft glow, it all faded away.

* * *

Louise woke from her nightmare and jumped out of bed breathing heavily, drenched in sweat, and urine running down her leg.

Placing a hand over her chest, she let out a long sigh. "At least it's over."

She was wrong. The door slammed open revealing her eldest sister Eleanor accompanied by the academy's maid, Siesta. To say Eleanor was unhappy would be an understatement. She was furious. A look of pure indignation filled her eyes like fire, while venomous wrath laid thick on her tongue.

"Louise!"

"E-E-Eleanor." Louise stuttered.

"Maid, take little Louise's things down to the carriage at once, then you may go back to your daily duties. I would like to speak with her in private!" Eleanor ordered.

"Y-Y-Yes Lady Vallière." said Siesta nervously as she collected all of Louise's belongings and scurried out the door and down stairs to the carriage.

"Eleanor I…"

"Zero." Eleanor snapped.

"What?"

"You are even more weak and pathetic than I have taken you for Louise. All you had to do was summon a familiar, one of the simplest tasks a mage can perform, and you blew it."

"But…"

"It was a mistake for Mama and Papa to allow you to attend this academy in the first place, I mean you are sixteen years old and you still wet the bed! How pathetic!"

"Eleanor I…"

"You're what, sorry!? Oh this is way beyond sorry Louise. I had to wake up at three o'clock in the morning to hear that you had been expelled and that I'm the one who has to travel overnight to come and get you. As for being expelled, don't apologize to me, apologize to Mama and Papa when we get home for throwing their money away."

"But."

"Shut up! Now get cleaned up, changed, and in the carriage in ten minutes. And I don't want to hear a peep out of you until we get home!" yelled Eleanor as she slammed the door behind her leaving a shocked Louise to get changed.

* * *

The carriage trip from the academy to the manor was a very awkward one. Despite being in a very fatigued state from the trip to the academy, all Eleanor did was stare out the window with a disappointed expression with her arms crossed. All Louise could do in defense was stare at the floor and pray to the Founder that this was all a horrible dream. When they arrived home later that night Louise noticed that all the lights in the house were off. This gave Louise a feeling of both relief and confusion.

"Get inside Louise." said Eleanor.

"Um, okay." said Louise.

Louise walked up the front steps to the manor and stepped through the door. That was when it happened, the lights turned on. Revealing a sight that she had grown to fear since she was a little girl. There, standing in the middle of the lobby stood her mother Karin Vallière in her full manticore squad battle armor. During her glory days as the manticore squad's captain, she would wear the armor to protect Queen Marianne and to fight off the Germanians when they attempted to conquer Tristain many years ago. Nowadays she would wear the armor either to do her training routines or to discipline Louise. And this was no training session.

"Hello Louise." said Karin in a terrifyingly cheerful tone.

"Uh, um, I." stuttered Louise.

"I'd run if I were you." said Eleanor who closed the door behind her.

Louise screamed and then bolted away.

"Come back here Louise!" yelled Karin.

Running like the devil, she ran until finally she got to her bedroom. She slammed the door behind her and dove under the bed. She just listened to the clanking of armor until it became apparent that her mother was behind the door. Louise put a hand over her mouth in hopes to muffle her breathing. She expected her to break the door down but instead the knob turned slowly and the door creaked open. Louise hear the heavy footsteps thumping on the floor until her mother's shining silver greaves were just inches from her bed.

"You've failed me as a child." Karin said in a calm tone. "Your father will have a few words for you when he gets home tomorrow afternoon. Good night."

Expecting something else, Louise closed her eyes. But she heard armor clinking as her mother turned around and softly closed the door behind her.

After Karin left, Louise crawled out and sat there on the floor, too tired to cry. The two moons that gave some illumination to the lonely bedroom. The only thing she could think of was one thing, "Why? Why me of all People?"

* * *

The next morning was a very dreadful one. Throughout the whole morning Louise waited for her father to come home. She kept praying to Brimir to allow the trial to come to pass over her.

Later that afternoon while Louise, Karin, Eleanor, and Louise's other older sister Cattleya were having lunch on the back porch of the manor, Louise's father Duke Vallierie arrived home.

"Welcome home dear." said Karen with a smile.

"Good afternoon love." said the Duke.

"Good afternoon daughters." said the Duke.

"Welcome home Papa." said the Vallière sisters.

"Welcome home Papa…" Louise whispered, looking down at her tea.

"How was the meeting in the capital dear?" asked Karin.

"Dreadful, the Queen's depression has hit an all time high. She said at the meeting that she has decided to step down and that her daughter Henrietta is to be crowned queen in a few months from now." said the Duke.

"Poor Marianne, she has been like this ever since her husband died." said Karin.

"Yes, but I still can't believe that she is about to place that spoiled unversed brat on the throne like this. The only place that girl is going to take this country is on the road to disaster, especially considering the possibility that we might go to war with Albion soon." said the Duke.

"Papa I think you are being too hard on the princess, I'm sure she will make a great Queen." said Louise.

"Did anybody ask you!" shouted the Duke.

Louise then sat down nervously.

"Anyway Louise, on another note. I am deeply disappointed by your recent expulsion from the academy."

Louise nodded.

"Which is the other reason why I was not able to welcome you home yesterday."

"What do you mean Papa?" asked Louise.

"I have been out to find an alternative place for you in life. And after much thinking I have come to the conclusion that there is only one solution." stated the Duke in a serious tone.

"What is it?" asked Louise.

"Louise, you are getting married." said the Duke.

"To who?!" Louise gasped as she stood up from the table.

"Someone whom I've known for many years. You've met him before, his name is Viscount Wards."

"W-w-what?!" Louise screeched.

The tension hung in the air like a spider web.

After pausing for a second everyone began to speak their minds. Karin, Eleanor, and the Duke began talking of how great it is that Louise will be able to find happiness in her life as Viscount Wards's wife. Cattleya on the other hand tried to reason that having Louise get married so soon will stress her out.

As for Louise, first she was shocked at what was transpiring before her. Then she slowly began to grow angry. How could her father just marry her off like this without asking her? Did he or anybody else around her not care about how she felt? Did anybody care about what she wanted to do with her life? All these thoughts made her blood boil, her face grew red, and her teeth clenched tightly together. When the conversation hit a pause she let it all out.

"Shut up!" yelled Louise.

After a moment of silence and staring at the now heavily breathing Louise. Her father spoke up.

"I hope I didn't hear what I thought I just heard." said the Duke.

"Don't any of you care about how I feel!? Don't any of you care about what I think!? This is my life and I should be the one who decides what should happen!" said Louise angrily.

"You don't understand Louise, there are simply no other options for you." said the Duke.

"But…"

"No Louise. I've already made all the arrangements. You are getting married in a week from today. And if you don't want that, then you know where the door is." said the Duke.

"Papa, there is no way that you mean…" said Louise now starting to sob.

"Louise, we've made our decision. We are not going to put up with your mistakes anymore. You have disgraced the Vallière name for the last time. So either you get married at this time next week, or you cease being my daughter. I'm sorry."

After the Duke finished speaking he walked back into the house. Karin and Eleanor quietly followed not even looking at Louise, they're silence convinced Louise that they favored the Duke's decision. Cattelya stood up to walk back in, and being that she was forbidden to comfort Louise, all she could say was "I'm sorry" before running back inside a worried expression on her face.

* * *

Later that night, Louise sat in her room still angry by her father's decision. After thinking about it all day, she reached an ultimatum. If her family is willing to disown her if she doesn't marry Wardes, then so be it.

She snuck out the back door of the manor and made her way to the rowboat she used to hide in as a child. Before entering it however she looked back at the manor and thought about what she was doing. Could she really leave behind the only life she has ever known? Her family? The comfort? She thought for a minute.

"I've been through too much hell to stay here. They're not worth my tears anymore." proclaimed Louise.

As Louise rowed downstream away from the manor her heart began to ache, she would miss home, a warm bed at night, good food, and perhaps even her family. "I'm sorry Catelya. I'm so sorry." She whispered. But through the pain she had a look of determination, she had made her decision and she was never turning back. It was time to make something of herself or die trying.

Louise pulled the oars into the boat and decided to allow the current to carry her downstream, despite the strange feeling that came with leaving home it was kind of relaxing. It was a quiet, clear night and there were lots of stars in the sky to illuminate the path for her. She lied back hoping to fall asleep, with luck she would wake up close to the capital, after that she would have a long day of finding a new life.

An hour latter Louise woke up to the sound of fast moving water. The sound kept getting louder and louder. Louise got up to see what was going on, that's when she saw it. She was about to be sucked into whitewater rapids. Louise grasped to the boat tightly as it thrashed about. There was water everywhere; in the boat, on her clothes, everywhere. The rapids threw the boat against some jagged rocks causing it to fall to pieces and toss Louise out. Louise desperately tried to reach the surface, but the current kept her under. Her body screamed for air, the surface was drifting farther and farther away. Her vision became cloudy, the murky water surrounded her, and slowly she slipped into unconsciousness.

**A/N****: Please leave a review.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Ausländer

Louise awakened to the feeling of warm, down bed sheets spread across her body. Leaning up, her head in a fog, a questions formed in her mind. "Was that all just a dream?" Louise whispered looking at her hands.

Yawning, she hoisted herself out of bed, dragging her feet across the wood floor. She brought herself to the door, a strange red symbol painted on it, like an hourglass without a bottom. Clutching the ice-cold door knob she slowly pushed the door open. The horizon that presented itself before her was magnificent. It was a vast and seemingly endless void of space, a potpourri of objects hung in mid-air.

Louise couldn't bring herself to speak at what she saw, but an almost seductive force told her to move forward.

Taking a step forward bricks began to rise, creating a pathway in front of her. Still, Louise began to slowly walk down the path. The more she continued, images arose in her head. Consisting of the times her family had scolded her, of all the times she felt useless, and of the times when her 'friends' at the academy had mocked her because of her failures. She noticed a pattern, all these images were in order, like a timeline, starting from the beginning of her life and on to her most recent memory of her mother.

Louise could only wonder, "What happens when I reach the end?"

The end in sight, all she could do was continue. Her eyes focused on what looked to be curtains, draped over an upside down table and chair. Small candles illuminated the area behind them, creating a lush purple hue. But her focus was drawn to something else, a small fractured disk in the center of this makeshift shrine. Steel tassels hung from it, markings covered it, but one large marking stood out. A small semi-circle complemented by a muddle of smaller lines. As Louise got closer to it, she noticed it was making a sort of gasping sound. As she grasped it, the gasping sound went away, and was replaced by a voice.

"My dear Louise…"

She whipped around to see a figure standing before her, a brown overcoat covered his chest, and rings lined his fingers. However what stood out most to her were his pitch black eyes. She stepped back as she noticed he was giving off this same gasping sound.

"…what a sad hand fate has dealt you; your entire future shattered and everyone has seemed to have given up on you." He continued.

"Who are you? What the hell am I doing here?" said Louise in a scared tone.

"A little over a year ago you enrolled at the Tristain academy of magic, during that time I have seen your failures, and the humiliation you have received at the hands of your family and your peers. A story that's been repeated throughout the ages but, yours is different. Most people in your situation would have taken the easy way out, but you chose the hard way. Fascinating wouldn't you say?"

"You still haven't answered me. Who the hell are you?" Louise Stammered.

"I'm the one you hide under your covers from at night. I'm the one you pray to when you're all out of luck. I am the Outsider, and I've called you into the void."

"W-why did you call me here." She stuttered.

"You've been the underdog wherever you've gone, always taking whatever punishment is given to you. You don't want to be the novice your whole life do you? Let's see if we can do better."

Louise hardly noticed as her hand began to itch. "How do you mean that?"

"In your world, the people wield magic, feigning nobility by giving the illusion of strength. But I'm the one here who has real power, and I can gift it to people who interest me." He said. "I will allow you to keep that," he said pointing at the disk in her hand, "but know this; I expect to be entertained."

The Outsider then vanished, leaving Louise even more confused than ever. The world around her then grew dark.

When Louise awakened in the river, her cloak, snagged on a fallen tree, had kept her alive. Suffering from exhaustion, she unhooked her mantle and clung to a piece of floating driftwood. Bringing her arms out of the murk she noticed that her left arm felt heavier than her right. As she lifted her left arm she gasped as she saw the disk chained to her hand, but she had to look closer. The back of her left hand bore the same mark as the plate chained to her hand.

"I hope that 'Outsider' knows what he's doing." Louise panted as she continued to drift downstream.

After about five minutes of drifting she saw what appeared to be a fishing cabin on the river's edge.

"A place to stay…" She muttered.

Louise managed to muster some strength to lift herself onto the shore and walk to the cabin entrance.

"Hello?! Is anybody home?!" Louise shouted, however after shouting she thought she could hear the sound of multiple people scurrying inside the cabin. It wasn't very audible, almost as though whoever was inside had socks on. What was even more unsettling was that the lights were off on the inside.

"I know that it is late at night, but, my boat sank in the rapids. And I need a place to stay for the night."

Then all of a sudden it felt like something bit her on her thigh.

"Ouch!" shouted Louise as she collapsed on the cabin's front porch. It wasn't long before she found herself sounded by four hooded individuals. She had no idea where these figures came from. Her mind must have been playing tricks on her because it was as though they just appeared out of thin air. Her vision clouded, her body felt tired, but her fear caused her adrenaline to pump. She began pushing herself backwards with her legs, hoping to escape from these people.

"Damn, this bitch is tough. One dart didn't put her down." She heard one of them say.

"Maybe we should just cut her up now."

"Where's the fun in that? Didn't you learn patience yet?" One of them laughed.

"I say we kill her right now!" Her eyes widened as another one drew his sword.

"That's up to Otto." The one who shot her said solemnly as he loaded another dart and shot her in the stomach.

Louise couldn't resist now, sleep washed over her body. As her eyes fluttered closed the last thing she saw was the cabin door close.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Opportunity

Louise's eyelids slowly parted, she felt the pins and needles of numbness in her body. She lifted her head and tried to get her eyes to focus. The room she was in had a door with a small window on it that gave some illumination to the darkened room. She tried to get up from the bed but was shocked when she could only wiggle in place. Looking at her body, her eyes finally focused enough for her to see that huge leather straps had bound her hands and feet to the steel frame of the bed. She tried escaping her bounds but to no avail. Her mind began to panic, "Help!" Louise shouted. But no help came. "Let me go you monsters!"

Before she could scream again, a hand reached around and covered her mouth.

"Silence child." said a soft voice.

The man who spoke then struck a match against the wall and lit a candle. Bringing more light into the room.

He had a very mysterious presence about him. He looked middle aged, blonde hair, and blue eyes. He wore a light set of armor that was black in color. A pistol hung at his side along with small sword. But the oddest thing about him were his eyes, normally Louise could try and see what kind of person someone was by the way they looked at her. However, with this man, she saw nothing. His expression was completely blank.

"State your name." said the man in a deep eastern-like accent.

"You first." said Louise.

"My men just spared your life when they very well could have killed you. They brought you here, I gave you a bed to sleep in and shelter for the night. You are in no place to be making demands."

"Your men, wait a second, did you say your men?" asked Louise.

"That's right, those men you encountered last night were my students."

"Y-you're Otto?" Louise's expression paled.

"That is correct child. My name is Otto. Otto von Stauffenberg. But you have yet to answer my question. What is your name?" inquired Otto.

"L-Louise. Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière." stated Louise.

"Ah, so you're Karen's daughter?" Asked Otto.

"Yes, why? Do you know my mother?" Asked Louise.

"I know of your mother." said Otto.

"What do you mean?"

"I have heard of your mother. But I've never met her."

"Oh. Well, why am I here Otto?" questioned Louise.

"I think a better question would be is, why were you at that fishing cabin last night?"

Louise thought about what Otto had just said. Not wanting to bore him with the details, she answered him in a nutshell.

"I ran away… I had no place to go, and I needed a place to stay for the night."

"I see, so sorry for your loss." said Otto sarcastically.

"Otto, why am I here?"

"You walked in on my men's lesson. They were going to kill you, but instead the leader of the group decided it would be wise to instead take you in for the night. They failed to tell me about that brand of yours." said Otto.

"You mean this?" questioned Louise as she pointed to her hand.

"Yes. Where did you get that." asked Otto.

"A strange man who called himself, The Outsider."

"One and the same." Otto muttered.

"You have one too?" asked Louise.

"I do." Otto stated as he took the glove off of his left hand revealing a more weathered brand.

"Ok. But why do I get the feeling this is not the only reason why I have been brought here?" asked Louise.

In response to this question, Otto rose up from his chair and undid the straps that bound Louise to the bed.

"Put your clothes on and meet me outside and I will show you." said Otto as he left the room.

It wasn't until Otto said this that Louise realized that she was naked. After Otto left the room she thought she was going to scream. She had been undressed several times by servants at her parent's estate, but being undressed by total strangers while unconscious made her feel flat out insulted. But despite this, she threw her dress on and meet Otto outside of her room.

"Come." said Otto.

Louise followed Otto down a series of corridors, these corridors were lined with doors. They seemed to be some sort of living quarters. But for who?

It wasn't long before Louise and Otto came up to a set of doors that appeared to be some sort of entrance. They stopped at the doors and Otto turned around to say something to her.

"Louise, before entering you should know that the following rooms contain my life's work, and everything that you learn today does not leave this facility without my knowledge. Are we clear?" asked Otto in a serious tone.

Louise was hesitant at this request, but she nervously nodded her head in agreement.

"Good." Otto said.

As the door opened, Louise's eyes widened in awe. The room that Otto revealed to her appeared to be some sort of dojo. All around her she could see men in the same kind of armor Otto wore lifting weights, sparing with swords, practicing in hand to hand combat, and wielding some sort of magic that she had never seen before.

What surprised her even more were the men themselves. She was surrounded by men of all nationalities and ethnicities. There were Tristainians, Gallians, Germanians, Romalians, Albionians, and even elves all training together under the same roof. No wonder Otto wants this to be kept top secret. Some of the men were not even men at all, she could see a couple of women training as well.

"Who are these people Otto?" asked Louise.

"The Anglers." said Otto putting his hands behind his back.

"The Anglers?" questioned Louise.

"Street kids, mercenaries, refugees, peasants, thieves, dishonored nobles, heretics, forgotten war heroes; the pariahs of the world.

"With some discipline and a little black magic I have turned all of these ex-rejects into professional assassins." He said waving his hand in front of him.

"Assassins?" Louise questioned.

"That's right. Assassins." said Otto.

"Anyway there are three other rooms I want to show you. And the next one is going to be very loud on the inside so you might want to put these on." said Otto as he gave her a set of earplugs.

The next room that Otto showed Louise was a shooting range. Louise could see men shooting targets with pistols and a strange crossbow weapon that was attached to their wrists.

"Every good assassin must have great marksmanship! So every day, my men come here to hone their craft as professional marksmen!" Otto shouted over the noise.

Tugging her arm, Otto notion for Louise to follow him. And they continued on.

The next room was a much smaller one. It seemed to be a sort of laboratory. Inside Otto and Louise were greeted by an old woman who was well into her eighties.

"Hello dearies. What can I make for you today?" asked the woman.

"Nothing for us. Just giving Louise a tour of the place." said Otto.

"Okay dearies. Have fun." said woman.

The last room was a meeting room. Nothing interesting there. Otto and Louise took a seat.

"That woman was Julie. A local witch that I have tasked to make potions, poisons, tranquilizers, and armor for my men. She may be old, but she is the only person I know who knows how to get the mixtures just right." said Otto.

"I see." said Louise.

"So, I assume you have questions."

"You have such a big operation going on here Otto. How do you keep it all hidden?" asked Louise.

"Well you see Louise. I'm not just the kingpin of an underground network of assassins. I'm also the owner of a major bank in the capital. Which is where we are now. The gate way to this facility is one of my vaults. All you need is the right combination. You see, most people think that banks are exclusively the targets of criminals. Nobody would ever expect a bank to be the headquarters of an entire underground network. It's like hiding in plain sight and hiding in total darkness at the same time." Otto explained.

"I see. But why have you told me all of this Otto? What do you expect to gain from this little meeting?" questioned Louise.

"Because you're valuable." said Otto.

"How do you mean?"

"You are one of the few people in this world that has been directly marked by the Outsider. The only person within my ranks who has ever been directly marked is myself. You also have some great willpower, normally it only takes on shot with a tranquilizer dart to put someone unconscious. But with you it took two. You're a tough nut to crack." said Otto.

"Where are you going with this Otto?"

"I want you to become my apprentice. I want you to join my Anglers and become an assassin."

"What!? But Otto, I could never become an assassin! I've never killed anyone in my entire life!" said Louise.

"Don't worry Louise. I won't force you. But there are a few things you must keep in mind." said Otto.

"What's that?" asked Louise.

"Firstly, I can give you a place to hide, at this point your parents and the entire nation must be looking for you. Secondly, you have no other real options. Thirdly, you have nothing to lose. And lastly I can't exactly let you go now because…well I'll just let you finish that thought. Anyway I'm going for a walk, I'll be back in a few minutes to hear you decision." said Otto as he left the room.

Louise thought about what she had just heard and seen. Otto did have a good point on all the things he said. But could she really do this? Could she really join the ranks of an organization that consisted of a bunch of low class rejects and sinners? But the more she thought about it, the more she began to realize there were more pros to joining the Anglers than not joining the Anglers. This was her chance, to be something in life, and with the Outsider's power… She glanced at her brand, it glowed like the moon. The thought of this unspoken power in her possession almost made her mouth water. Without a second thought, she made up her mind. It wasn't long before Otto came back.

"So Louise, what is your decision? Stay or go?" asked Otto.

"When shall I begin my training Otto?" asked Louise.

"That's what I like to hear. Get a good night's rest and be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning." said Otto.

"Yes sir!" shouted Louise.

"Oh and Louise."

"Yes sir."

"It's Master Otto. Not just Otto."

**A/N:**

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**Anyways before you log out, I have a little bit of trivia for you history buffs out there:**

**What two famous historical figures is Otto based off of? Here is a hint; they are both german.**


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